The present invention relates to electrical power distribution, and more particularly, to a circuit that automatically distributes alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) power in a building.
Electrical power to a building mainly uses AC power. AC power enters the house or building through a main service panel for distribution through existing AC distribution circuits including a wall socket, where that AC power is available to power electrical apparatus, devices or equipment. Sometimes one or more sub-panels are connected to the output of the main service panel to further distribute power to more wiring connections in the building.
Renewable energy resources, such as wind turbines, photovoltaic (PV) panels or solar panels, generate DC power. Typically, DC power generated at a building from such renewable energy resources is inverted into AC power, which is then sent through a power meter to the AC power grid. Later, the AC power may be withdrawn from the AC power grid through the power meter and the AC service panel for distribution through the existing AC distribution circuits.
Many electronic devices, such as laptop computers or cellular phones, require the use of DC power either for device operation or for battery charging through a power adaptor to convert the AC power delivered at a wall socket into DC power for the device use. The sequential inversion and conversion of DC power into AC power and then back again to DC power is an inefficient way to use energy.
Accordingly, there is a need to reduce electrical energy wasted due to the sequential inversion of DC power into AC power and then conversion back again to DC power for electronic devices.